Pitch Perfect: Charitable Winterfest tourney enjoys success

- Evening News photo by KIM BRENT
Friends Tom Broman and Dana Shankleton of Monroe joke with one another, striking their tough guy poses, as they take in the afternoon softball games at the annual THANKS Inc. Winterfest fundraiser in Ida Saturday. The event, which includes food, drink and music, children's activities, continues today with the championship games of the Snowball Softball Tournament.

And they proved it again Saturday as blinding snow squalls that reduced visibility to a few feet at times pelted Ida Firemen’s Park, where the festival continues until 5 p.m. today.

The worst of the storms appeared to hit just as the coed softball tournament got under way Saturday afternoon. But it wasn’t much better when the men’s tournament began in the morning.

“You never know what’s going to happen with the weather,” said Brian Trombley, vice president of Tailgaters Helping Aid Needy Kids Spirits Inc. (THANKS) Jamie Davis Memorial Softball Tournament. “We had mud last year and 8 inches of snow another time. We just left (the ball fields) the way they were.”

A maximum of 34 teams took part in the 13th annual double-elimination tourney and other teams had to be turned away, Mr. Trombley said. Besides the two fields at the park, another field at Ida High School had to be used to get all of the games in.

Mark LaPointe of Erie wore his Marine Corps fatigues to stay warm while he pitched for the NGI Rockets consisting of employees and friends of National Galvanizing in Monroe. Playing for the second year, Mr. LaPointe, 52, could hardly see the plate when he threw.

“The bats and balls are slippery this year,” he said. “Last year it was mud.”

His wife, Becky, didn’t mind as she snapped photos with her digital camera.

Wooden bats were used for the second straight year in the tourney, which offers five-inning games and uses a one-pitch softball format to speed up the games. Batters have to hit the ball or get an instant walk if it’s a bad pitch.

Justin Toro, owner of Toro’s Roofing in Newport, coached the Booze Hounds that lost its first game, 11-5, to the Tailgaters from Ypsilanti, a squad made up of players from the Belleville-Romulus area. But the Hounds, consisting of men from Monroe and Newport who play together during the summer, didn’t mind.

“We have a good time and a few beers,” Mr. Toro, 29, said. “We have a few guys who are family guys and little outta shape.”

Paul Boyd, 31, served as pitcher, mascot and cheerleader for the team and knocked in the squad’s first run with a long double.

“I think he’s feeling it,” Mr. Toro said.

The team’s No. 1 fan, though, was Shawn Greathouse of Monroe, who watched her son, Don Fallon, play outfield. It was her first time at the tournament and she didn’t mind the snow.

“I think it’s great for them to be out in the cold, enthusiastic and working out their cabin fever,” Ms. Greathouse said. “It’s cold, but could be much worse. It’s a nice exhibition before the real season starts.”

Ernie Anderson, coach of the NGI Rockies, said he and other players such as Jeff Benner, 56, have played every one of the winter tournaments.

“We come out for fun and hope to pass it on to the younger guys,” Mr. Anderson, 41, said.

One of those younger teammates — shortstop Mike Menard, 25 — said he was going to wear shorts but changed his mind at the last minute.

The Lubrizol coed team from Toledo had six men and six women playing. It’s not hard to get people to play, said Brian Knapp, in his fourth year on the team.

“Between the beer and spaghetti dinner, they get their (money’s) worth,” Mr. Knapp said. “The hardest part is trying to figure out how to dress.”

Umpire Scott Young of Temperance, one of many umpires who volunteered for the tourney, thought the weather was great. He wore a bright-orange snowmobile suit over three other layers of clothing.

“It’s a blast,” Mr. Young, 48, said. “You forget how cold it really is and you’re having fun. It’s a great cause.”

The Tailgaters from Ypsilanti call themselves the “funnest bunch out here,” said coach Mike Gubaci. His wife, Melissa, keeps score along with Cherie Vanmaren. The team formed seven years ago when Mr. Gubaci’s son, Cody, 9, died from inflammation of blood vessels in the brain. The players were one of the few teams who wore uniforms Saturday. The Tailgaters’ uniform was green and white and has a logo with an alligator sporting a baseball and glove and the words “In Memory of Cody.”

“Cody loved alligators,” his mother said. “This is a good cause, too. It’s a good party.”

Craig and Alice DeLand managed the heated concession building where players and fans could come in and buy hot chocolate, chili dogs and coffee. The 20-by-30-foot canopy has two propane heaters in it and is enclosed in plastic each February just for the tournament.

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